A dark hour
by ferretypie
Summary: A dark time approaches and when Naruto is chased by a maveric chuunin, a strange transformation takes place.


The figure of a boy appears on the horizon; he is running clumsily but with the demeanour of apparent urgency. He crashes through wet bamboo ignoring the glare of sunlight through the canopy. He does not care what path he is following, or if he is even on a path at all, all he knows is that he must get away, fast. He gives out a yelp and digs his heels into the earth as the ground gives way in front of him, leaving him gawking at the view.

Miles of forest stretched out ahead of him with no signs of it ending. He crawls to the edge and looks down on the rocky surface of an enormous cliff face. All hope fell from the boy's face and tears welled up in his eyes, he didn't want to die now, not when he had finally discovered a dream to follow. He rolled over, streamed a hand through his bright blond hair and sighed.

"I guess nothing ever works out for me..."

"No, it doesn't, does it... demon fox." Muttered a voice from the bamboo.

There was a slight rustling and the stalks parted revealing a dark clothed man.

"I told you, my name is Uzumaki Naruto you idiot" Retorted the blond making a half-hearted sneer. _Damn it…_

"Silence worm, give screams only whilst I gut you!" spat the man whilst unsheathing a rusty katana, giving it a few testy swipes against a bamboo stalk, which it splintered jaggedly. The man was pleased with the outcome and showed so with a malicious smile that made Naruto flinch. "We've been waiting a long time to kill you, I'll become Konoha's HERO!"

Naruto clenched his fists in anger and glared at the man, how dare he insult his Beloved Village with such lies, but doubt crept into his mind. Naruto had always received hateful glares from the villagers, but he had always laid that down to his annoying tendencies to prank, surely they wouldn't want to kill him... would they?

"Anyway, heheh, now onto the matter at hand" exclaimed the man, switching the blade to his other hand "Did I mention me being much better with this arm, monster?".

The man leapt forwards and grabbed Naruto's throat, but he had miscalculated the jump and knocked himself and Naruto down to the ground.

Thoughts rushed through the blondes head, among them burned his strong will to live. He grabbed the man's leg and pulled him towards the drop, fighting against the powerful kicks to his gut. Naruto was beginning to tire, his young body was not supposed to be misused in this way, and he knew it, so, with one last almighty effort he knew he had to take a dangerous risk. He swivelled his hips until his legs were coiled beneath him and lifted the man's legs to his chest.

"Hey... what are you doing, bastard fox!?"

"I don't know what kind of sick Bastard you are, trying to kill a six year old" roared Naruto, bones cracking under his furious grip "But if I'm going down, I'm gonna make sure you can't hurt anyone else!"

Then, time stopped

**So, what shall you do now... brat. You know you lack the power to hurt this man. You know this, and yet, you still try to make a difference. Ku ku ku ku, you interest me boy, and thus deserve my help**

A red substance began oozing out of Naruto's mouth; the boy's body began shuddering ecstatically as from his pores, crept dark matter, grafting itself to his flesh with a sickening rip. Sparks emitted from his hair as it changed from blonde to a deep blood red. Naruto's pupils shrunk until they had almost completely disappeared.

His skin bulged as his muscles and skeletal structure reconfigured them selves causing his shirt to rip revealing a body far too advanced for a six year old to have. His face had also become much sharper and more adult, causing him to look older then he actually is.

There, the deed hath been complete, now fall Brat, fall higher then you would have ever dreamed!

And so, time's flight continued.

"**OOOUUUUWAAAARRRRHHHH!"**

Blinded with anger and pain, Naruto took no heed of his changes and threw himself and the man from the cliff. But his body was still healing and the strain caused his arms to dislocate, making him let go of his pursuer in anguish.

But the momentum was strong enough, the man plummeted towards the ground at a frightening speed, making his very flesh boil and flake off.

Naruto was quick to follow, grabbing his ankles and used his torque to throw the man into the side of the cliff. The impact caused the man's legs to explode against the rocks.

Further down, Naruto landed on the ground, and as his arms had healed, on all fours. The immense pressure this created caused the ground around him to instantly flatten.

Unfortunately, the jolt caused Naruto's circulated to briefly cut off, making him faint pathetically onto the dirt.

The man followed, splattering, like a tomato, on the ground.  
What… is this strength…?

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The Sandaime sat, sweat dripping from his forehead, gazing at the stern council members. He gazed down at the papers they had given him and fidgeted nervously.

"So… Naruto-kun has betrayed the village you say?" He muttered, trying not to betray himself. "Nonsense, the boy I know would never leave Konoha."

There was a general grumble of disagreement that flowed around the Council.

This matter would have to be sorted quickly, or who knows what could happen.

His arm shot out and snatched a passing ANBU.

"You, get Iruka and…Kakashi. Tell them the Hokage desperately needs them!"

" H.. hai Hokage-sama" stuttered the surprised ninja as the iron grip released him.

"Then go, this is most urgent!"

The Ninja nodded, made a seal, and disappeared into a puff of smoke

"Hmm…. Sarutobi. This better be good…" groaned a disgruntled Uchiha, drawing attention from the council "I have to get home to see Itachi"

"Ah, the prodigal Itachi, how has he been" enquired Sarutobi, in an attempt to get off the subject of Naruto.

"He has been better… acting a bit colder then usual, especially to his brother"

"Yes, how is young Sasuke, I hear he recently joined the Academy?"

"He has, though no Sharingan has appeared yet." spoke the Uchiha rising from his seat. "It is… most disappointing".

The disgruntled Uchiha eventually made it out the door, muttering vague insults directed at Sasuke's lack of Sharingan.

Thankfully this caused the Atmosphere to lighten, though Sarutobi still sighed in annoyance. He'd hoped to have atleast a half-decent conversation with that man, though the Uchiha's are renowned for having an incredibly stuck-up attitude.

The conversations paused when a loud grating was heard on the tiles outside the window, though they started up again instantly when a grey haired ninja climbed in.

Aside from the occasional greetings he exchanged between council members, he seemed entirely set on reading a small orange book. This book was the target of many a woman's anger and cause of many men's perverted grin. It was 'Icha Icha Paradise' Written by none other then the great sennin, Jiraiya, who is generally seen around bathhouses, and more frequently seen being beaten up by the semi-naked women who reside in them. All these image flashes within the Sandaime's mind as he gazed apon the Shinobi, a grin creeping onto his face. 


End file.
